Angels Never Cry
by inky.pinky.106
Summary: Old friends gather to wish Aragorn one last farewell.AU, for all you Tolkeinites out there who want to be specific. PS, thanks for your reveiws so far! continue to R


**Disclaimer:** However much I wish I did own the characters and/or places in this fic, I don't. There, I've said it. The only thing that belongs to me is...well the PC...ah, whatever. Read and possibly enjoy:D

Angels never cry.

"Are there such things as Angels?"

"...Yes."

"Do they walk among us?"

"From time to time...they like to keep an eye on things."

"What do they look like?"

"Legend has it that they are tall and noble, graceful yet fearsomely beautiful to look at, with piercing, fiery eyes and a bearing most regal. It is said that they are the souls of great warriors who have proved themselves true at heart, and who walk once again to guide others along paths of justice and peace."

"Do you think I shall become an Angel?"

"Undoubtedly."

"...Can Elves be Angels too?"

"Elves do not die, my little human."

"Sometimes they do."

"Yes...sometimes..."

"So they could be? If they proved themselves in life?"

"...I suppose so, yes."

"Are Angels as sad as Elves?"

"Sad?"

"Yes. Are they unhappy that they are dead and have to watch others live?"

"How could such a free spirit be so sad? No, little human, Angels are not as sad as Elves, because they have already passed through that slender veil which is impenetrable to the immortals. Angels are happy beings of light and warmth. They sing and laugh...and they never cry."

"Angels never cry?"

"Never, my little human."

I I I

Aragorn sighed softly. It had been many years since that conversation between himself and Legolas. He had been a child, seven at most, and he had once again plagued the Elf with unending questions, demanding to know everything Legolas knew. The Elf had laughed at this, replying that it would take centuries to learn everything he knew, and the learning would never end, not while the sun still rose and set or the stars shone at night...how right he had been. Aragorn was still learning, here at the very end. He was being taught what it was to die, to cease existing. It was a difficult lesson.

He turned his head slightly, gazing at the faces around his bed. There was Sam, Merry and Pippin, Eomer, Gimli, Faramir, Eowyn and by his side was Arwen. Everyone was there for the end...no, wait...not everyone...the object of his recent musings was not present, his shining face was missing...

"Where is Legolas? Where is my friend?" His voice was hoarse and old, so different to the youthful one that had long ago begged for one more story, another song, more lessons...

"He is coming, love." Whispered Arwen. He turned his head to gaze at her, her dark hair shot with rippling sliver, her mortality evident at last. Sadness watered his eyes as he beheld her fading beauty.

"Forgive me my queen." He murmured, reaching out a hand to caress the dimming curls around her face. "I have done this to you."

"No, it was my choice and I chose you, beloved." She smiled at him and he wished he could return the gesture, but he knew he had scant time left to him and yearned to see his old teacher one last time. Arwen sensed his distress. "Calm yourself, he will arrive."

He squeezed her hand. "I know." Silence reigned once more, each occupant of the chamber lost in thoughts of days long gone, of journeys that would never be repeated.

I I I

"If I become an Angel, can I come to walk with you?"

"If you become an Angel, you can walk with whoever you want."

"Will you know I'm there?"

"Always."

"Will we still be able to talk?"

"No. There will be that last curtain between us, the one I cannot pull aside."

"You won't be able to hear me?"

"No."

"Then how will you know I'm there?"

"I will know."

I I I

Indeed, he would know, just like he knew now as he walked into that silent chamber that his old friend had little time left. His span could be measured in hours, and only a few of those. He saw Aragorn before the king saw him and was saddened by the figure in the bed. There was little left of the giddy, smiling child who had pestered a patient Elf with many questions, his curiosity boundless but tempered with endless enthusiasm. A small smile came to his mouth as he remembered Aragorn the child and the many lessons he had given him. Yes, he had taught him well.

The guard before him cleared his throat and the assembled group jumped slightly.

"Your majesties, my lords and lady...Prince Greenleaf of Mirkwood." He bowed and, stepping around Legolas returned to his place at the door his part in this drama over. The Elf hesitated, unsure, but Aragorn had turned and was gazing at him with the same clear grey eyes as ever, a grin on his weathered face.

"Legolas...my old friend...you have arrived at last..." He raised a weary arm and beckoned him forward. "Come, teacher. I would sit with you one last time."

Legolas needed no further encouragement. He moved forward and settled himself on Aragorn's left, beside Gimli. The king smiled weakly, his joy evident despite his obvious pain. Legolas took Aragorn's cold hand in his own and chafed it gently, willing life back into the old joints. But life was the one thing he could not give to this human. Arwen had already handed the king that gift long ago and it was not in his power to defy the natural law of mortality. The knowledge made him feel helpless and he hung his head in torment, wanting so much to return to ages past when they had travelled together and there was no pain. Aragorn watched the steady fall of tears stain the Elf's face and sighed.

"You grieve for me."

"No. I am happy for you. I grieve for myself."

"Many are the times I have wept for you, my old friend, for the same reason you now weep. We are to be separated and it will be painful, but you will forget."

"I shall never forget." Legolas' voice was forceful.

I I I

"Do Elves ever forget?"

"Never. We are cursed with eternal memory as well as eternal life."

"Why are they curses?"

"You cannot guess? You do not know why Elves have forever separated themselves from mortal races?"

"...No, why?"

"You yourself know the pain of loss, but think how it would be to constantly lose those you loved...as though you were losing your father or mother over and over again, time after time...in a cycle that never ends because there is no end to an immortal life."

"That...that's terrible!"

"It is why Elves never have close dealings with other races. We do not hate them and we are not aloof, we fear the pain of loss; a pain we would have to bear for eternity without hope of the numbing salvation of forgetfulness."

"...What will happen when I die?"

"You will be an Angel."

I I I

"You were wrong, Legolas." Aragorn seemed to have been pondering a matter deeply for some time.

The Elf stirred from his thoughts, a frown appearing on his brow. "About what?"

"When I die, I will not be your Angel, you will be mine. I will use you as a beacon and I will follow you wherever you go...you will shine with light and warmth that will draw me to you like a weary traveller to a roaring fire."

"and yet I shall always be cold inside..."

"But you will be my Angel, as you always have been. Ever have you been a golden vision to me and often a symbol of hope in the darkest of battles. Yes, you are my Angel."

Those gathered around the bed smiled sadly. Aragorn closed his eyes, his skin rapidly turning to a pale grey colour.

"There is not much time left to me now, I would beg you all to gather closer." His breathing was becoming laboured and the hearts of everyone began to beat faster as the approach of death hastened. "Sam, I am giving you the position of Royal Gardener and placing under your protection all in this city that is green and good." Sam looked shocked, but he merely nodded once and wiped at the tears coursing down his face.

"Merry and Pippin, you are to look after Eldarion and my daughters. They have come to love you as uncles and I would ask that you keep an eye or two on them whenever you pass by this way." Merry and Pippin gave watery grins and hugged Aragorn briefly before retreating into a corner to weep on each other's shoulders, their grief private.

"Faramir and Eowyn, I have already gifted to you your lands, but I shall give you one other thing-my permission." He smiled in the face of their confusion. "I know your son has long been in love with one of my daughters. He shall have her hand in marriage, thus finally joining our two domains." They hugged each other in joy and thanked him quietly, their gratitude beautiful to Aragorn.

"Eomer, it is to you that I have given Brego. I know you will care for him, for he will pine in my absence, but he has life left in him yet. I would not want him to spend it with anyone other than you." Eomer choked on a sob and hung his head, too grief-stricken to speak.

"I come at last to you, Gimli son of Gloin. To you I have given ownership of two of the Gondorian mines, Arnathen and Gerasan. Use them well, my old friend." Gimli bowed humbly, his face red with suppressed despair. Aragorn turned at last to Legolas. "And you, teacher, what would you ask of me?"

"I ask for nothing, for you have already given me everything. I have had your friendship and trust for longer than I had ever thought possible. For this, I thank you."

"But surely there is something you want?"

"The one thing I would ask is not within your power to grant; indeed, it is not within the power of anyone, mortal or immortal."

"After so many discussions, still you are sad?"

"It is the nature of an Elf to be unhappy."

"And well...I remember...it..." Aragorn's eyes began to grow distant, his chest rose and fell rapidly with increasingly shallow breaths. He took one of Arwen's hands in his own. "I am...leaving you...love..."

"It is no matter, I shall soon follow." She smiled through her cascading tears, the knowledge that she was no longer facing the same destiny as Legolas making the moment less painful for her. Legolas looked away, hiding his grief. He could not bear to witness the final destruction of his oldest companion. He had nurtured Aragorn from a young age, taught him wisdom, knowledge, understanding and Elven lore. He had watched him grow from a tiny child to a gangling adolescent and finally into a strong, noble man. He could not now watch this final stage of the course of human life.

Aragorn reached out a trembling hand and turned the Elf's head back again, wiping away the shimmering tears falling from his translucent blue eyes. Outside the sun was setting and it cast a golden glow into the chamber, edging over everyone and gilding their vision. Aragorn gave a last smile as he looked at his lifetime mentor. The dying sunlight gleamed over Legolas' silver blonde hair and reflected light around his head in a fiery halo.

"Angels never cry, Legolas...farewell..."


End file.
